Hello Gorgeous!

Me, no. My new vanity, YES! Not quite new, but updated. ;) Over the long holiday weekend I decided it was high time that I stop looking at my vanity with angst and instead make the changes to it that I could see in my head. Now the only problem...how do I make what is going on in my head translate to the real world? (Levi always says my mind is cartoons.)

Step 1 - channel my inner crafty/decorator/refined stylish self : uh-hum, channel my fabulous friends that are way more crafty than me

Step 2 - buy supplies to give it a new finish

Step 3 - get my sister's old mirror out of storage @ mom and dad's and safely transport to new location

Step 4 - make it happen and happen it did!

I love my new vanity and as all you women out there well know having a place of your own to put on your makeup, store all your cosmetics, nail supplies and all the other items that us women need to stay looking fabulous for our men is simply bliss. (And I painted the chair to match...love my chair!)

Soo...

What do you think?

Cronies

Eclipse...
Once again my girlfriends and I immersed ourselves in the twi-hard, twi-mom, teen, tween and everything in between crowd so that we could be one of the first to see the new Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie at 12 AM on June 30. IT WAS AMAZING! I think this is the best of the three thus far. Don't get me wrong, I love my Twilight and New Moon movies but this one was...fan-freaken-tabulous! This time we did not get in trouble by a group of teens, in fact we were actually asking the teens in front of us to quiet down. Maybe in the past six months since the last movie we have grown more mature...or maybe we have aged enough not to act like fanatics. Probably neither. Before we went to the movie Sabrina had a Twilight movie marathon and hosted dinner which she and Mike made for us. It was fabulous. OM-Gosh, no...it was amazing! They are awesome chefs and I love going over to their house because they make the best food...I feel so classy. :) (Levi still raves about the truffles Sabrina made from scratch!) Mike made us dessert - crepes with berries - they were so good that I had to take a picture. Luckily I thought about the picture before I dug in...otherwise you would see an image of an empty plate to the right. : The movie was great and if you are a fan of the series you are going to love this new installment!

Tiffany...
Last weekend I was so lucky to be able to spend lunch with one of my oldest friends. Tiff lives in Arizona and so we don't get to see each other much, actually we only see each each other when she comes to town. (I need to make it out to AZ to visit her!) It was so good to catch up. She is such an amazing friend and it is always as though we just pick up from where we left off the last time we saw we saw each other. Tiffany is a constant. She never changes, only gets warmer with the years. She is an amazing mother to her two little girls and 10 month old boy. She is one of those friends that you realize how lucky you are when she is right there, but when she is gone it is like a hole in your heart for the void she leaves. I wish I could bottle up a little Tiffany for each one of you so that you would know how wonderful both she and her friendship are. Even though it would be just a little taste of the wonderful blessing I get to experience all the time, you would know what a blessing she is. I am thankful to God for the friends He brought into my life. Without those friends, past and present, and my sister I don't know where I would be. Ten years later, after graduating and going our separate ways (so to speak), Tiffany, Tess and I are still friends. (And by the way Tess you owe me a lunch :D) I love these girls because they are my past; they know me as the person I was and now the person I am. They understand me in ways others can't because they have seen the changes that come with growing up, moving on, and enduring life. They have whiddled their own niche in my soul that no one but that them can fill, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love my Tiffany (and my Tess)!

Older but Wiser

Whew. That about sums it up. This past week was a subtle reminder that while my mind and body believe they are young...I am not. On Saturday, I subbed for a friend in her volleyball tournament. On Sunday, I had an all day tournament of my own and this was after playing two matches Wednesday night, and four matches on Thursday. My body is beat, literally. Although I am grateful for the ability to play and to be able to keep on performing at these high levels of competition, this past weekend was a reminder that, no, I am not 18, or 21 or even 25 any more. And while I do take care of my body, the realization that forever playing four nights a week or two long days over the weekend at division one or division two levels of competition is no longer a luxury I can accommodate. My knees ache, my hips and back tight. Even with stretching, training and pills the pain still pursues. Thus, it is my older and wiser mind that resurfaces to remind me I cannot go on forever. I must cut back. At this point in my life, training for the many years I expect to fulfill rather than the big game is more important. I will not be giving up the game, though, but I have realized that I should work to preserve my knees, and joints and body before the hard dives, constant jumping and countless twists cause me to find real injury.

Ah, enlightenment. I know I am a different person than I was ten years ago. At 18, when I dove for the ball and hit my head on the announcers table trying to get the ball back into play I was fine. I shook it off and got back to it. Now, after a day of reflection on the aches I endured last night and slightly today, I realize it is better to take care of my body before I break it. If that wasn't motivation enough...Levi keeps threatening to trade me in because as he put it, "I got a broken one." :)

What Inspires You?

There are many things in this life that I fall in love with over and over again. My husband goes without saying, but simple things like watching someone walk around a lake with no perception of time, studying Champ as he becomes engrossed while surveying the neighborhood at the front door, or even the fall of leaves in the autumn - the realization that they are at their end - put me in a state of wonder. I love these moments. I find myself curious and in awe of those simple treasures; treasures that when I'm not looking inspire me.

One place I always find inspiration is in art. I absolutely love art. There is something so amazing about a person who can have such skill as to present the realities of life with the swiftness of their hand regardless if it is abstract or figurative. With each painting I wonder what emotion captured the artist and pursued them until finally it was released onto the canvass. Bob Ross (insert cliche laugh here) was the first artist I loved. Everything about how he painted was joyful. The world he created through his work was always engineered with happiness. All the trees had friends and there was nothing you could do mess up "your world".

As I grew up my attraction to art evolved and I found another artist who continues to awe and inspire me, Jack Vettriano. Some of his work hangs in our home, other pieces I am dying to get - but not all are in production. :/ His work is soulful and loving, raw and edgy, glamorous and simple all at the same time. I wonder what emotion coursed through him when he felt the need to create the different pieces. What sights he must have seen...what mystery surrounded his life...what pain he must have endured...what love he must have experienced.

I think the greatest thing about art is that there is no right or wrong interpretation. It simply holds the hope you see, the pain you feel, the love that embodies you. And every one will see something different although we are all looking at the same thing.

There are numerous artist whose pieces of work capture me and leave me speechless. I am drawn to art and with each piece I experience, I am inspired.

Silence

The slumber party is over and our family is back to five. We managed to have only a few dramatic moments over the week. The most significant was with Butch; he became more edgey as the days went by and on the last day there was a scuffle. When Levi and I got into the back yard to break it up Butch had Champ locked down at the neck. Luckily Champ was fine and just shook it off. Butch was in trouble and separated from the group. It was meant to be punishment but I think he was actually relieved. : /

The puppy, Baker, was curious about everything. In fact she was so curious she chased after Aspen one night only to be met with a vicious hiss and claws. Baker never went near Aspen again. She tucked her tail and went back to the other dogs when every she saw Aspen after that.

Gracie was a sweet heart, only a spaz when you stopped petting her...but what dog isn't? And our Champers, well he was patient. Gracie would growl at him and get teritorrial, but he just looked at us like are we done yet? Baker would chase after him, jump on him and bite at his neck (sometimes actually hanging from him while he walked) but he just moved along as though it was nothing.

It was a definite adjustment getting used to taking care of four dogs, each with their special needs and different personalities. I have to be honest and say it is nice to have our home back to normal with the silence that ensues from only having our two dogs. With that said, I would do it again in a heart beat. I loved having our little pack of dogs. But silence is golden. :)

Slumber Party

For the next week, Levi and I have grown our household from a family of five to a family of seven! While Marilyn, Ron, Carolyn and Cliff are on vacation we have taken in their little buddies Baker and Gracie - both females. We now have four dogs and a cat under our roof.

Aspen is not happy about this at all. When the dogs are out doors she sniffs their beds, then rolls all over them so that her scent is left behind - how ornery is that! She hisses at Gracie and Baker when ever they are in her eye line...she is so high maintenance. Butch was curious for about ten minutes but now he is over it. He looks at me like, "OK mom, you can send my friends home." Thankfully they are all getting along and it is fun to have a house full of little buddies.

Here are a couple pics...Gracie is in front of Champ and Butch (the rotti) and Baker is the 9 -10 week old puppy. She is a red healer that Marilyn rescued when she was left at a reservoir.
(I tried to get all four in the same picture, but Baker wouldn't listen and pose with the rest of the dogs...she is still a puppy after all.)

Count Your Moments

There are moments in life where you need no affirmation that you are exactly where you are meant to be.  When the muddled what if's or should have, could have, would have's fade away.  Moments when future plans blurr, too distant to discern.  Moments when you wish you could freeze time.  Stand still.  Never change.  I often find myself watching our 'kids' and wishing with all my heart that I could make time stand still so that nothing would ever change.  Old age wouldn't consume our dogs.  Time wouldn't haunt our bodies and we could simply be exactly as we are at that moment. 

But what is life without adventure?  How could you know the happy times truly are happy without knowing the sad?  How can you touch lives if you never grow into the person you were meant to be?  Life is complex.  Filled with too many moments to freeze.  And if that invisible force pushing us forward, moving us to the next day, never gave us that gentle nudge to move on would we then never know the bliss that awaits us?

There are moments in this life that I will never forget.  My grandpa calling out, "here comes star."  Hiding from the neighborhood boogie man with girl friends in middle school (the pee man - LOL).  Showing up on my sister's doorstep crying and her enfolding me in a hug.  My family laughing so hard at a silly shrunken T shirt.  Seeing my husband for the first time.  Seeing my husband at the end of the aisle...

Too many moments to recount here. 

I pray that I never forget those moments.  That I can look back on life, unleash the treasured times and be filled the memory of a life well lived.  To everyone reading this, treasure your moments.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  Tally your blessings and let go of that which holds you back.  At end of my life you'll find me recounting my moments....date nights with grandma and drinking too much wine...giving my parents a 'cool' wave at my volleyball games...playing in the halls of the hospital with Levi the night Arianna was born...meeting Tonio for the first time...Marilyn's patience teaching me to ride the quad...the night we brought home our Champ...